Venture Below The Surface
HELLO FRIENDS,
Several months ago my husband and I flew to Texas to visit our son. Since the beginning of our marriage he has been telling me about this place called Carlsbad Caverns that he visited as a kid, and how beautiful it was. I am definitely not a cave lover but I do enjoy National Parks and when we discovered it was just a few hours drive to New Mexico, we woke up early one morning and decided to take on the adventure.
We drove past the flat lands and oil fields to a place that upon arrival seemed very normal, even quite boring. If I had stayed on the surface, it would have looked like any other southwest Texas landscape, flat, dry and dusty.
But underneath…
When we arrived we walked toward the entrance of the cave and started the long, winding path going down, down, down. It was dark with just a few dim lights to guide our path. At first, I was hesitant, there were so many unknowns, but we kept walking and slowly began to discover a depth of beauty I had never experienced before. I would even describe it as otherworldly. The landscape was pure artistry, the detail of the stalactites were unforgettable. It was cool, quiet and absolutely fascinating. There were signs along the way that read: “Stop. Listen. What do you hear?”
We stopped. We listened. We heard nothing at first and then a faint drip, drip, drip of melting ice.
Over the next couple of hours I walked with childlike wonder through a place I thought I never wanted to go. A place that is typically unseen but holds so much wonder and beauty. If I had stayed on the surface I would have missed it all.
As I reflect on this experience, I cannot help but think about the inner life, our personal, “below the surface” places of the heart. That place where God says, “Come explore with me!”
In our culture, we so often live on the surface. It’s been said that our culture suffers from “depth deprivation.” We hurry, we skim, we disrupt and distract. We think it’s easier to stay on the surface and maybe it is, but what do we miss by staying there?
We are loved by a God who is gentle and leads us with compassion to the deep places of our heart, those places below the surface where no one sees, or where we may be afraid to go. Sometimes it takes work, but it’s so worth what it takes to get there.
The prayer of the Psalmist invites us to let go of superficiality and move toward heart-level transformation. Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
As we venture below the surface, God’s word lights the way and his gentle voice guides us. Today, I want to invite you to venture below the surface with God, where your heart comes alive as you discover the beauty and wonder of your belovedness in Christ!
Stop. Listen. What do you hear? God is speaking and is with you every step of the way.
In Christ, Kristin